a cultural history of planting memorial trees in modern japan...trees as memorials” can be defined...
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総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 81
A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees
in Modern Japan: With a Focus on General Grant in 1879
OKAMOTO Kikuko
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies,
School of Cultural and Social Studies,
Department of Japanese Studies
Planting memorial trees is today a common practice. The act of planting such trees indeed contributed to the
promotion of Japanese policies of modernization in the Meiji era, no less than erecting monuments or memorial
statues.
Two facts support this hypothesis. First, there are texts encouraging the planting of memorial trees, some
written by Honda Seiroku, professor of the Imperial University of Tokyo, who laid the groundwork for modern
forestry, and others issued by such government offices such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and
Forestry. Second, the media came to recognize the news value of memorial planting and reported on it. Under
these circumstances, memorial trees were planted widely as rites of national significance in modern Japan.
The event that I examine here is the ceremony commemorating General Ulysses S. Grant’s visit to Japan as a
state guest in 1879. Materials indicate that General Grant planted memorial trees at three different parks, all of
which were former landholdings of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, transformed now into modern Japan’s
first public parks by decree in 1873.
An analysis of the characteristics and historical changes of these park spaces and the types of memorial
trees chosen for planting suggests that the intention was to reflect the policy of Westernization in Japan,
with its emphasis on breaking with the past and obtaining new knowledge. At the same time, the root of these
ritual practices can be seen in the worship of trees which the government otherwise rejected. There is evidence
here that an admixture of old and new ideas regarding nature was one source powering this particular aspect
of the promotion of modernization in Japan.
Key words: Japanese Modernization, Westernization, Planting trees, Worship of Trees, Memorial Ceremony,
Park, Nation-States, General Grant, Tsuda Sen, Shibusawa Eiichi, Honda Seiroku
1. What is the planting of memorial trees?
2. The case of planting ceremonies by General
Grant in 1879
2. 1 Nagasaki Park
a. Nagasaki Suwa shrine
b. The Memorial tree in Nagasaki
2. 2 Shiba Park
a. The temple of Zojoji
b. The Kaitakushi Memorial
c. The memorial tree in Zojoji
2. 3 Ueno Park
a. Toeizan Kan’eiji
b. General Grant’s memorial tree in Ueno Park
2. 4 Analysis of the space of three examples
3. Conclusion
Acknowledgements
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013)82
1. What is the planting of memorial trees?“Planting trees” is an everyday occurrence. However,
“planting memorial trees” has become a solemn ritual
event. One definition of the word, “kinen shokuju” 記念植樹 (planting memorial trees), “kinen” (memorial)
found in Kojien dictionary is “to leave a remembrance
for hereafter, a memory or a memento.” Moreover,
“nen” 念 refers to an operation of mind in Buddhism
in which memory does not lapse. Thus “planting
trees as memorials” can be defined as “planting trees
mindfully or soulfully in order to leave a remem-
brance for hereafter.”1) Compared with the culture of
memorial statues or monuments, memorial trees are
unique in that they are not only living as “a living
memorial (ikitaru kinenhi 生きたる紀念碑)”2) but
have the longest life of all living things. This is the
difference between inorganic monuments and organic
monuments. Whether a memorial tree grows big or
dies rests on how much care is taken of it and on the
natural environment. If it grows up strong, it will
possibly live hundreds or thousands of years.
With regard to the ways of memorial planting, it
appears they are classified into different forms as
follows;3) First is planting one or two saplings in a
ceremony (kinen ju shokusai 記念樹植栽), second is
the development of a memorial colonnade (kinen
namiki 記念並木), and third is memorial forestry
(kinen rin 記念林). Furthermore, planting memorial
trees in religious spaces such as Shrines and Temples
is meant for dedication as well (kinen kenboku 記念献木). These are sometimes carried out in combina-
tion with a ritual ceremony and foresting.
Kinen shokuju is carried out commonly nowadays
in Japan. However, it was also part of the promotion
of Japanese policies of modernization from the latter
part of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the
twentieth century in the same way as erecting such
monuments as the statue of Omura Masujiro 大村益次郎 in Yasukuni shrine produced by the Japanese
first modern sculptor, Okuma Ujihiro 大熊氏広.
There are two facts that support this hypothesis
about its connection to modernization.
First, there were guidebooks4) encouraging the
planting of memorial trees were issued by such
government offices as the Ministry of Agriculture,
Commerce and Forestry, and also by such luminaries
as Honda Seiroku 本多静六,5) professor of the Imperial
University of Tokyo, who laid the groundwork for
modern forestry. Honda was also famous for making
the forest at Meiji Shrine and developing many
modern parks including Hibiya Park. These guide-
books were published to accelerate tree planting
activities as components in such national ceremonies
as imperial enthronements (gotaiten 御大典), and to
mark significant imperial acts (goseitoku 御聖徳)
and, say, to promote such enterprises as recovery
after the Kanto earthquake (teito fukko 帝都復興).
The guidebooks give instructions on how to plant
memorial trees, and tell of suitable places like parks,
temples, shrines, avenues, school campuses, and river
banks where many people gather.
Second, the national media recognized the news
value of memorial plantings and reported on them.
Here are just a few examples among many from the
Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞 and other sources. For
example, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the
campaign to plant memorial trees at schools as
recommended by Makino Nobuaki 牧野伸顕 from
the Ministry of Education, who was influenced by the
Arbor Day holiday in the US.6) Admiral Togo’s
planting of a memorial tree of laurel and pine for
victory in the Russo-Japan war in Tokyo7) was also
widely reported and all the residents of Iwanai,
Hokkaido planted memorial trees8) as well (Fig. 1).9)
Also the press reported on the memorial plantings of
cherries, maples, firs and other trees to commemorate
Japan’s annexation of Korea and its land forestation.
These took place at the palace of Governor General
Terauchi Masatake 寺内正毅, and in every province
of Korea. Such plantings eventually became annual
state events.10) In the Taisho and Showa periods,
memorial tree plantings were undertaken to mark the
repair of the infrastructure following the devastation
of the Kanto earthquake. Memorial plantings and
memorial colonnades were also promoted as a part
of “city beautiful movement” in Tokyo area, known
as Toshibi Undo 都市美運動.11) In this campaign,
Honda Seiroku, a vice-president of Toshibi Associa-
tion, delivered several lectures to the general public
on memorial plantings on the radio.12) Memorial
OKAMOTO A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees in Modern Japan
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 83
forestry was carried out not only in the city but also
in mountains, such as Mount Koya 高野山.13) The
print and broadcast media reported on this activity
among the general populace, and helped it become
more prevalent.
2. The case of planting ceremonies by General Grant in 1879
I will now turn to a discussion of the meaning of
General Grant’s memorial tree plantings and their
locations.
In 1879 Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822–1885), the
18th President of the United States, visited Japan at
the end of his three-year grand tour. John Russell
Young recorded the events of the tour in his 1879
book Around the World with General Grant. The
General was received as a state guest at numerous
official and private events, and was granted an
audience with the Emperor, which was timed to
coincide with Independence Day on 4 July. In Japan,
General Grant planted memorial trees at three
different parks, Nagasaki Park in Nagasaki, Shiba
Park, and Ueno Park, (the latter two in Tokyo).
According to Young’s records, during the General’s
world tour, memorial planting ceremonies were only
carried out in Japan.14)
2. 1 Nagasaki Parka. Nagasaki Suwa shrine
On 22 June, the day following his arrival, the party
of General Grant viewed the Nagasaki Fair15) in
Nagasaki Park, and then went to Nagasaki Suwa
Fig. 1 The Planting of Trees for the Celebration of Victories (The War Album. No. 4, Tokyo: Kinkodo & Co., 1905)
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013)84
shrine, where he and Mrs. Grant planted memorial trees.
Suwa was the shrine to the protector kami 神 of
Nagasaki in the Edo period, and enshrined there are
Takeminakata no kami 建御名方神, a kami of
hunting, and Yasakatome no kami 八坂刀売神, a
kami for agriculture.16) It is one of the branch shrines
of the main Suwa Taisha 諏訪大社 in Nagano, which
is known for its Onbashira 御柱 festival featuring
sacred trees.
b. The Memorial tree in Nagasaki
According to John Russell Young, the species of
tree planted by the General was a Ficus Religiosa
(Bodaiju 菩提樹), and Mrs. Grant was given a Saurus
Camphora (Kusunoki 楠) to plant. The original trees
unfortunately no longer exist,17) but now another tree
(a kind of mulberry, Ako, Gajumaru ガジュマル) is
growing as a substitute in the same spot as can be
seen in Fig. 2. And a stone monument stands besides
the tree with an inscription written by the General in
English and engraved in Japanese (Fig. 3):
“At the request of Governor Utsumi Tadakatsu (内海忠勝), Mrs. Grant and I have each planted a tree
in the Nagasaki Park. I hope that both trees may
prosper, grow large, live long, and in their growth,
prosperity, and long life be emblematic of the
future Japan.”18)
The following day, General Grant was invited to a
dinner party at the Nagasaki prefectural office and
gave an address on the prospective friendship
between the US and Japan. The General closed his
speech as follows: “In that spirit I ask you to unite
with me in a sentiment: The prosperity and the
independence of Japan.”19)
Now I would like to ask you, my readers, to
remember Grant’s words unite with me in a
sentiment, the independence, and the words Nagasaki
Park engraved on the monument.
2. 2 Shiba Parka. The temple of Zojoji
Next I will consider the memorial tree at Shiba
Park in Tokyo. General Grant was invited to the
temple Zojoji 増上寺 in Shiba, and planted there a
Himalayan cedar now known as Guranto Matsu グラ
ント松 on July 16 (?), 1879. It thrives today (Fig. 4).
Zojoji20) is a noted temple of the Jodo 浄土 sect of
Buddhism; it was one of the Tokugawa family
temples, which originated from Komyoji 光明寺
established in Kojimachi Kaizuka (Kioi-Cho area) by
the Shingon monk Shuei 宗叡, an eminent follower of
Kukai 空海. In 1393, a former Shingon monk called
Shoso 聖聡, who had converted to the Jodo sect,
restyled the temple Zojoji. The temple moved to its
present site in Shiba in 1598.
b. The Kaitakushi Memorial
The reason why General Grant planted a memorial
tree on the grounds of the Zojoji temple was because
the Zojoji was related to the Hokkaido Settlement
Board, the so-called Kaitakushi 開拓使.
As is apparent in Fig. 5, the national school
Kaitakushi, a precursor of the Sapporo Agricultural
College (Sapporo Nogakko 札幌農学校), was instituted
temporarily in Tokyo in 1872 for persons engaged
in the settlement of Hokkaido, since the Sapporo
infrastructure was not yet complete. As is well
known, the Meiji government had created the
Kaitakushi in July 1869 as a part of its national
defense strategy against Russia. Why was Zojoji
selected as the site for this school? The reason may be
that, prior to opening Japan to foreign trade, Zojoji
made the arrangements for and corresponded with,
the American delegations;21) and again, at the
beginning of the Hokkaido settlement, the Govern-
Fig. 5 The National School of the Hokkaido Settlement Board
“The Entrance of Kaitakushi office at Zojoji with Kuroda Kiyotaka August 1872”(Photo: Hokkaido University Northern Studies Collection)
OKAMOTO A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees in Modern Japan
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 85
ment entrusted to Zojoji the enlightenment of the
Hokkaido natives.22)
At first, the office of Kaitakushi in Koami-Cho
dealt with miscellaneous matters. Then in 1870, the
Meiji Government established the Karafuto Coloni-
zation Board and the following year both settlement
boards were combined, and the ten year Kaitakushi
project was launched. Kuroda Kiyotaka 黒田清隆,
the under secretary of Kaitakushi, directed them. And
as it gradually expanded, the office moved to the
spacious precincts of Zojoji. In the process, the
connection between Zojoji and Kaitakushi became
close. When Kuroda was at the helm of the
Kaitakushi, Horace Capron, an agricultural admin-
istrator in the US, was invited to Japan to serve as an
advisor.23) Horace Capron was Secretary of Agriculture
in the Grant administration.24) His business was large
scale livestock farming, but he had also fought in the
civil war in a cavalry regiment on the Northern side;
what is more, he had experience of negotiating with
Native American tribes during his military service in
Texas.25)
Capron was assigned to his new duty in 1871, and
was duly received in audience by the Emperor after
his arrival in Japan on August 2. The Emperor
wished him success with the Hokkaido Settlement
project. On Capron’s return from Hokkaido to the US,
he was admitted to the Emperor’s presence once more
on March 28, 1875.26) In 1884, two years after the
Kaitakushi system was abolished, Capron was
decorated by the Emperor for his work.27)
As for Capron’s achievements, he worked at the
office in Zojoji with Kuroda the director general, and
it was Capron apparently who recommended setting
up a national training school for Kaitakushi. His
farming method was based on ground leveling, and
he devoted much effort towards farming in the
Hokkaido settlement, especially where soil fertility
was concerned.28) Besides this, he played a part in
introducing Western lifestyle to Japan. For example,
he proposed the use of the solid houses and stoves
as substitutes for the “thin paper house (usugami no
ie 薄紙の家)” and hibachi 火鉢 to protect against
the cold.29) And Western-sourced breads, meats,
vegetables and dairy products were first cultivated
in Tokyo Aoyama (at the present site of Aoyama
Gakuin Daigaku)30) before they were grown in Hokkaido.
According to Tsuda Sen 津田仙, a leading agri-
culturalist, Methodist, and father of Tsuda Umeko,
Kuroda asked him to assist finding suitable lands for
such pilot farms and showed Capron around the
spots. Although the land of Aoyama was originally
undulated, the ground was leveled off.31) In 1873, the
Empress dowager paid a visit to the pilot farm of
Kaitakushi on March 27, then the Empress dowager
came again, with the Empress, this time in May.32)
This was very beneficial for the foreigners living in
Japan in those days as well.33) Naturally, General
Grant also attended to the farm in Aoyama with his
son and accompanied by Yoshida Kiyonari 吉田清成,
in August 1879.34)
Consequently, the site of Zojoji came to be
considered a kind of headquarters of Kaitakushi
policies, and was of no little significance in the wider
modernization plans of the Meiji Government; its
significance was well understood by General Grant
himself.
c. The memorial tree in Zojoji
Next to General Grant’s memorial tree, there stands
a plaque that says “General Grant came to Japan as a
state guest and visited Zojoji in July, where he
planted this tree as a memorial.” (Fig. 6) The
chronology of Jodo sect (Jodoshu Dainenpyo『浄土宗大年表』) said that the former US president General
Grant visited the Imperial Palace July 4 as mentioned
previously, yet there are no notes on the General’s
visit in July 1879.35) The exact planting date is
uncertain but the evidence suggests it was July 16.
First, Kaitakushi Jigyo-Hokoku (「開拓使事業報告」) the annual report by the Ministry of Finance in
July reported that General Grant was invited to lunch
with Kuroda at the office of the Kaitakushi in Zojoji,
and proposed a toast to Kaitakushi success. He drank
Sapporo Beer and partook of the agricultural produce
cultivated on Hokkaido farms.36) Second, another
source entitled Guranto Shogun to Wagakuni (『グラント将軍と我が国』) describes how the General was
invited to the office of the Kaitakushi on July 16.37)
The participants were Prince Arisugawa, Prince
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013)86
Higashifushimi, Prince Kitashirakawa, Ministers
Sanjo, Iwakura and Kuroda among others, and
Kuroda gave a congratulatory address. Third, in his
letter dated July 14 to Yoshida Kiyonari, Japanese
envoy to the US, Kuroda announced that on July 16
General Grant would come to the office of Kaitakushi
for a formal luncheon.38) Given the line-up of
attendants above, a ceremonial event for state guest
General Grant most probably took place on this day,
and it is probably safe to assume that he now planted
the memorial tree.
The sapling used for the memorial planting was a
Himalayan cedar. According to the school board of
Minato ward in Tokyo (1968), it was brought by the
US representatives to Japan.39) If so, it is possible the
tree might have been brought from Peking which
General Grant visited en route to Japan. There he
would have observed the green and flowers and trees,
including Himalayan cedars, beautifully cultivated
inside the wall of the US legation.40) Still, taking
account of the Kaitakushi, the possibility remains
that the sapling might in fact have been brought up
in a Kaitakushi farm.
2. 3 Ueno Parka. Toeizan Kan’eiji
Next, in respect to the place where the General
planted the memorial is in the precinct of the temple
of Kan’eiji 寛永寺 in Ueno,41) which is no less
renowned as the relation to the Tokugawa than
Zojoji. In 1625, Tenkai 天海 a high ranking priest of
Tendai Buddhism,42) who promoted a syncretic mix of
Shinto with Buddhism known as San-no Ichijitsu-
Shinto 山王一実神道, established Kan’eiji in Ueno. It
is patterned on the layout of the Kyoto Imperial
Palace with respect to Enryakuji 延暦寺, located on
the summit of mount Hiei 比叡. At the same time, the
Shinobazu pond 不忍池 there was arranged similarly
to Lake Biwa 琵琶湖, and designed to feature flowers
and trees, particularly cherry blossoms;43) and therefore
became a place of entertainment for people in Edo
those who enjoyed horticulture. The Ueno area became
a bloody battlefield in the civil war of 1868, but it was
soon thereafter transformed into an arena for modern
academia and science by the Meiji government.
The modernization of Ueno began in 1870, upon
the advice of the Dutch doctor, Bowdoin, of the
Imperial Medical School (Daigaku Toko 大学東校)
which was a partial precursor to the Tokyo Imperial
University. He suggested that a park in scenic Ueno
be developed instead of the preexisting plan to build
a hospital in order to replace the Hongo area.44)
Subsequently the national library was planned there
in 1872, to be followed by museum facilities; the first
Japan exhibition was organized in 1877.45) Built for
the nation’s enlightenment, these diverse facilities
contributed to modern education. They were instituted
as essential building blocks in the nation state, and
drew on the model of the Western educational system.
In this process the site of Ueno had been changed
from a fairground-like space for commoners to a
space for modern academia and science.
b. General Grant’s memorial tree in Ueno Park
The great reception to welcome the General in
Ueno Park on August 25 was organized by the
businessman, Shibusawa Eiichi.46) This was the first
state event that took place in the presence of the
Emperor not organized by a government department.
The various spectacles of traditional martial arts
were exhibited to General Grant and the Emperor,
and the feeling of festivity ran high all day long
among men and women, young and old. John Russell
Young recorded that there was “no event in the visit
of General Grant to Japan [that] excited more
attention than the public festival at Uyeno, on the 25th
of August,” and this “lifted it out of range of mere
festivals and gave it a political significance.”47)
For the “memento of [their] visit” the General and
Mrs. Grant each planted a tree as a sign of Japan-US
friendship.48) Both trees are still living today, having
escaped the scourge of war. However can be seen in
Fig. 7, the memorial tree on the right, which General
Grant had planted, looks spindly and weak in
contrast to that planted by Mrs. Grant and to the tree
planted earlier at Zojoji. As a matter of fact, the
sapling the General planted was the wrong kind.49)
It is said that Tsuda Sen 津田仙 had arranged the
sapling for the ceremony. Tsuda wanted General
Grant to plant a Giant Sequoia and hunted every-
OKAMOTO A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees in Modern Japan
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 87
where for a sapling.50) The Giant Sequoia is a famous
American tree found in Yosemite or Sequoia National
Park in California; the trees are said to live for two or
three thousand years, and to grow up to 100 meters
tall. As Fig. 8 shows, there exists a tree named
General Grant’s Tree in General Grant National Park
(The Grant Grove), which was appointed the Nation’s
Christmas tree in the US.51)
On the US National park system, Yellow Stone
National Park was in fact set up by the Grant
Administration in 1872 for the protection of the
natural environment. With respect to the national
park system in Japan, the first twelve national parks
were named by decree in 1934. As mentioned before,
Dr. Honda Seiroku, who was a board member of
the committee, selected these spots. In advance of
founding the national park in Japan, Honda also
visited Yosemite Park52) during his world tour and
looked at the real Giant Sequoia in Taisho period
(Fig. 9). When General Grant had completed his
voyage around the world, it was to Yosemite National
Park that he and his family went to recover from the
fatigue of their long journey (Fig. 10).53) For the
General, the scenery of the Giant Sequoia forest
seems to have been his primary image of the US.
By way of parenthesis, John Russell Young
described how the General enjoyed seeing trees
around the world during his trip. For example, in
February 1878 General Grant stayed in Jerusalem for
three days and visited the garden of Gethsemane
while visiting the Holy Land. As John Russell Young
commented, General Grant touched the old olive
trees’ knotted bark with reverence.54) Mrs. Grant was
gifted some flowers gathered by priests, and other
members of the General’s party were given twigs and
leaves from the Tree of Agony.55)
In Israel, there is a national-tree planting event
in winter called Tu Bishvat, also referred to as the
New Year for Trees.56) According to Dr. Ben Ami
Shillony, it is a Jewish holy day which derived from
Zionism. Zionism is supporting for the development
of a nation for the Hebrews in Palestine.57) “[When]
the Zionist pioneers began to settle in the Land of
Israel, working the land became an ideal, and they
began to plant trees en masse in order to overcome
the desolation of the land. The planting of trees on Tu
Bishvat slowly became customary, and in 1908, the
Jewish National Fund and the educational system
officially adopted the custom. Since then, Tu Bishvat
Fig. 9 Dr. Honda Seiroku with Giant Sequoia (Teien『庭園』, Nihon Teien Kyokai, Vol. 5, (4) 1923)
Fig. 10 Illustration of “One of the Big Trees”(Young, John Russell, “Around the World with General Grant” Vol. 2, 1879, p. 629)
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013)88
is known as the holiday for planting trees, on which
schoolchildren and their teachers plant trees all
around Israel. The tree-planting ceremonies
symbolize the renewed connection between the nation
and its land.”58)
Let us now return to the topic of the sapling.
Bustling around to get a Giant Sequoia for the
memorial event, Tsuda came to know that Yamao
Yozo 山尾庸三 of the Ministry of Industry grew
them in his garden; Tsuda begged Yamao to give him
a sapling.59) The sapling Yamao ordered was,
however, the wrong kind; it was a cypress
lawsoniana, and he cultivated them in his yard
without knowing his mistake. No one knew what
the sapling of a Giant Sequoia looked like in the
beginning of the Meiji era.
Fig. 11 is taken from Tsuda’s essay in the
agricultural journal Nogyo Zasshi 『農業雑誌』 published by him. It is clear that he fully expected
the General’s tree to grow tall and big in Ueno Park
as a memento of his visit, and duly named it
“Guranto Hinoki ぐらんとひのき.” Yet, as scientific
knowledge now tells us, the Japanese climate was
never suited to the Giant Sequoia,60) and obviously it
would have been too huge a memorial for the mount
of Ueno. So, had it not been for the mistaken sapling,
the General’s memorial tree would not have survived.
In connection with this, in 1930, fifty years after
the General visited Japan, a bronze monument was
erected beside the trees by Shibusawa Eiichi and
Masuda Takashi of former committee of that
memorial event (Fig. 12 a, b).61) Regarding the
reason for the monument, the inscription says: “Few
people now know the history of these trees. Therefore,
we who had the privilege of participating in the
welcome event fifty years ago have erected this
memorial tablet near them.” The chief attendants
were Miss Jane, daughter of L.-Colonel and Mrs. J. G.
Mcllroy, American Embassy, Mr. E. L. Neville,
Charge d’affaires, American Embassy and Shidehara
Kijuro 幣原喜重郎 the Minister of Foreign Affairs.62)
The date of the unveiling ceremony was timed to
coincide with May 30, to mark the end of the Civil
war. The words by the General carved on the monu-
ment are “Let us have peace.” Since 1946, a wreath
laying ceremony has been performed under the auspices
of the government of Tokyo and the Shibusawa
Memorial Foundation every May (Fig. 13).
2. 4 Analysis of the space of three examplesIt is unclear from the extant sources who was
responsible for selecting the three sites for tree
planting. Yet there is a considerable similarity among
them: all were former landholdings of Buddhist
temples and Shinto shrines, especially connected
with Esoteric Buddhism and Tokugawa Shogunate
ideology,63) which was kept out by the Meiji govern-
ment for its uncivilized manner and syncretic
thought.64) But these spaces transformed now into the
first public parks by Dajokan 太政官 decree No. 16,
issued on January 15th 1873. The public park system
resulted from the confiscation of temple and shrine
lands in 1871; till now they had been exempted from
taxation as a privilege of the clergy. The precinct of
Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines were intrinsic-
ally a kind of public space, and of historical value,
and Edict No. 16 was issued to ensure that the spaces
might henceforth be used as public parks.
Fig. 11 The Illustration of the “Grant Hinoki”(Tsuda Sen, Nogyo Zasshi 『農業雑誌』, Gakunosha, No. 89, September 15, 1879. Tokyo University Meiji Shinbun Zasshi Bunko Collection)
OKAMOTO A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees in Modern Japan
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 89
The park’s management was entrusted to the
governors of each prefecture; however, it had been
directed customarily by Eizen Kaigisho 営繕会議所,
an advisory board which originated from Chokai-sho
町会所, the local committees in Edo organized by
Matsudaira Sadanobu 松平定信 in 1792.65) It is
said that the board had advised that the governors
retain old customs for a while, since the public morals
of commoners was still too low to adjust itself to the
western way of life. Indeed John Russell Young had it
that the feeling of town parks in Nagasaki was “a
pleasure ground with unique old temples gray and
mossy with age.”66)
Thus the board kept on using an old word yuran-jo
遊覧所 instead of Koen 公園 a new word meaning
“public park.” On the function of parks, parks made
the most of the characteristics of a plaza, and were
utilized for national activities including state
meetings or even the state funerals. They also
cultivated and edified people’s public manners for the
sake of constructing the nation states. In addition to
that, in the view of Dr. Honda Seiroku (who developed
many parks in Japan and in its colonies), parks serve
as a place for people to refresh and maintain a
healthy body, especially for the laborers who worked
in inferior conditions in industrial farms far from
nature.67) The parks, therefore, were a necessary
element in modernization.
3. ConclusionAn analysis of the characteristics and historical
change of these spaces and the type of memorial trees
suggests that the intention of planting was to reflect
the policy of Westernization in Japan, with its
emphasis on breaking with the past and obtaining
new knowledge. Here, finally let us look back to the
inscription in the Nagasaki monument. The reader
will recall that it said not “Suwa-Shrine” but
Fig. 12a “Let us have peace”The Memorial Monument of General Grant’s Memorial tree in Ueno Park(Teien to Fukei 『庭園と風景』, Nihon Teien Kyokai, Vol. 12 (6) 1930)
Fig. 12b The Article on the Unveiling Ceremony on May 30, 1930 (Asahi Shimbun dated from May 31, 1930)
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013)90
“Nagasaki Park.” If General Grant visited there to
pray, “shrine” would have been suitable, but the
new word “Park” is more appropriate in this regard.
It might be pointed out that Nagasaki Park was a
place of the assimilation and popularization of foreign
cultures, especially Christianity; Shiba Park was a
place for settlers, who controlled nature with modern
power, and Ueno Park was a place of learning, where
people could access new knowledge. Each place was
in its own way an emblem of the West: “religion,”
“rational power over nature” and “knowledge,” all of
which characterized Japanese modernization. The
Grant administration in 1872 in particular had a great
influence on Japan. During Grant’s administration,
the Iwakura Embassy paid a state visit to the US,68)
the national park system was established, the Arbor
Day holiday was inaugurated in the US, and the
Kaitakushi office was set up in Zojoji by Kuroda and
Capron. These developments during the Grant
administration impacted on Japanese modernization.
In relation to Iwakura Embassy, Fukuchi Gen’ichiro
福地源一郎, a journalist, who was a member of this
mission and had also been dispatched to Palestine in
February 1873 as the first Japanese to visit to
Palestine69) during this world tour. Fukuchi was also
known to have devoted himself to organizing the
welcome event for General Grant in Ueno Park as a
representative together with Shibusawa Eiichi.70) It
was in such places that the General, a victor in the
civil war and a leader of modernization, was invited
by the Meiji leaders to plant memorial trees. The act
of planting was a ceremony intended to embed in
Japanese soil the roots of Westernization. The
purpose was to identify with the West and its
civilization for Japanese Independence.71) If one
recalls, it is just as the General said: “Unite with me
in a sentiment.”
Meiji Japan promoted the imitation of the patterns
of the West above all, but what about Japanese
minds? Did the Japanese dispense with the old ways
of thinking? To answer this question, it would be one
of use to consider some rumors in respect to General
Grant’s tree. It was found in the newspaper Tengyo
Minpo 天業民報 by the Nichiren sect of Buddhism,
Kokuchu-Kai 国柱会.72) According to the contributor
Hoshino Takeo,73) who is a follower of Tanaka
Chigaku 田中智学 and is known as the author of the
record of the Meiji Emperor’s imperial tour around
Japan as well, indicated that people in those days
talked about the General’s spirit inhabiting the
memorial tree, and said that those who touched the
tree would be punished, or that messages written on
its leaves could reach everywhere in the world.74)
Even as modernization accelerated, such superstitions
still persisted. Although memorial trees were planted
in new modern parks, commoners and even political
leaders seemed to keep “tree worship” in the back of
their minds, and recognize the power of trees. That is
why the planting ceremony was carried out as if it
were a ritual of sanctifying tree as himorogi 神籬 in
Shinto. Obviously such as Itakeru no mikoto75) 五十猛命, a son of Susano no mikoto 素戔嗚尊 and a god
of planting trees appeared on Nihon Shoki 日本書紀,
was respected in this sense. At the same time, the
root of these ritual acts and thoughts can be seen in
animism, as in the woodman’s old custom called
Tobusa-Tate 鳥総立76) derived from a folk religion of
the worship of the Mountain God 山神信仰, about
which waka 和歌 in Man’yoshu 万葉集 were also
composed.77) It is also seen in Hongaku 本覚 thought
according to which “trees, lands, and all creation
become Buddha,” and in the syncretism between
Buddhism and Shintoism, a position which the
government otherwise rejected. There is evidence
here that an admixture of old and new ideas
regarding nature was one source powering the
promotion of modernization in Japan. Memorial trees
were ritually planted to harmonize and to integrate
the old and new minds or Eastern and Western ways.
AcknowledgementsThis paper is based on my master’s thesis (Tokyo
University, Graduate School of Humanities and Socio-
logy, 2007) and my presentations at The Conference
of the Association for the Study of Cultural Resources
(July 17, 2010, Tokyo University, Japan) and The 11th
Annual Conference of Asian Studies in Israel (May
23, 2012, Tel Aviv University, Israel).
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to
Dr. Ben-Ami Shillony (Hebrew University) and Dr.
OKAMOTO A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees in Modern Japan
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 91
John Breen (International Research Center for
Japanese Studies) for their kind guidance and to the
Embassy of Israel in Japan for providing materials
used in my study.
Notes 1) Sueki Fumihiko, Kikuko Okamoto, “Kindai-nihon no
shizenkan—Kinenju wo meguru Shiso to sono Haikei”,
Edited by Akimichi Tomoya, Nihon no Kankyo Shiso
no Kiso, Iwanami-Shoten, 2012, p. 91 (末木文美士・岡本貴久子「近代日本の自然観 記念樹をめぐる思想とその背景」秋道智彌編『日本の環境思想の基層』岩波書店).
2) “A Living Memorial”, by Honda Seiroku, Ten-nen
Kinenbutsu to Rouju Meiboku (Natural Monuments
and Old Trees), Nanso Bunko ni okeru Shisekimeisho
Ten-nenkinenbutsu Hozonkyokai Kowa, October 28
1916, p. 4 (本多静六『天然紀念物と老樹名木』南葵文庫に於ける史蹟名勝天然紀念物保存協会講話).
3) Uehara Keiji, Jumoku no Bisei to Aigo, Kashima
Shoten, 1968, pp. 181–182 (上原敬二『樹木の美性と愛護』加島書店).
4) Examples of Guidebook for Memorial plantings by
Dr. Honda Seiroku; GakkoJusai Zorin-Ho (1899):
School memorial plantings and forestry, Meiji Tenno
Kinen-Kodoju no Shokusai wo susumu (1913):
Recommendation to plant a memorial colonnade for
the Meiji Emperor, Meiji Tenno Kinen Kodoju (1913):
The memorial colonnade for the Meiji Emperor, Kinen
Shokuju no Tebiki (1915): Guidelines for memorial
plantings, Kinenju no Hogo-Teire Ho (1916):
Maintenance and protection of Memorial trees. And
by the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and
Forestry; Kinen-shokuju ni kansuru chui (1914):
Instructions to memorial plantings, Kinen-Shokuju
(1915): Memorial plantings, Gotairei KinenRingyo
(1916): Memorial forestry.
5) Dr. Honda Seiroku (2 July 1866–29 January 1952),
Professor of Tokyo Imperial University, was born in
Kawaharai, Saitama prefecture, the son of Orihara
Chozaemon and Orihara Yaso. Educated on Forestry
at Tokyo Sanrin Gakko (a precursor of Tokyo
University) and in economics under Dr. Ludwig
Joseph Brentano at the University of Munich. A board
member of Dainihon Sanrinkai, Nihon Teien Kyokai,
Teikoku Shinrinkai, and so on.
6) Yomiuri Shimbun, June 5-6, 1895.
7) Yomiuri Shimbun, November 15, 1905, January 16,
1906, Ikeda Jirokichi, Ueno Koen Grant Kinen-ju
(General Grant’s memorial tree in Ueno Park),
Nihonshubyo-Goshi-kai, 1939, pp. 56–59 (池田次郎吉『上野公園グラント記念樹』日本種苗合資会社).
8) Yomiuri Shimbun, March 16, 1905.
9) The Planting of Trees for the Celebration of Victories,
The War Album, No. 4, Kinkodo & Co., Tokyo, 1905.
10) Yomiuri Shimbun, April 4, 1912, Kokudo Ryokka Undo
Gojunenshi (The 50th year Memorial of National Land
Forestation Promotion), Kokudoryokka-Suishinkiko,
2000, p. 330 (『国土緑化運動五十年史』国土緑化推進機構).
11) Shokuju-Sai (Planting Ceremony), Toshibi-Kyokai
Gaiyo (A Summary of Toshibi Association), Toshibi
Kyokai, 1936, pp. 10–11 (「植樹祭」『都市美協會概要 附會員名簿』東京市土木局内都市美協会).
12) Honda Seiroku, Shokuju Day to Shokuju no Kudoku
(Memorial plantings and its virtue) broadcasted on
April 3, 1931 by JOAK, Teikoku Shinrin Kai (本多静六ラジオ講演「植樹デーと植樹の功徳」帝国森林会). The Toshibi, Toshibi Kyokai, No.2. June 5, 1931,
p.13. (『都市美』都市美協会). Honda Seiroku, Shokuju
Day to Shokuju no Hiketsu (Memorial plantings and its
key) broadcasted on April 3, 1929 by JOAK. Yomiuri
Shimbun, April 3, 1929.
13) Sohonzan Kongobuji, Sanrinbu Goju-nen no Ayumi
(The 50th year Memorial Book of Sanrinbu), 2001, pp.
69–70 (総本山金剛峰寺『山林部五〇年の歩み』).14) For example, in Jaypur, India, the Maharajah put the
flower wreaths of the jasmine and rose on neck of the
General Grant solemnly, and did same to Mrs. Grant
and to all the members of the party at the farewell
ceremony, in March 1879. “Taking leave of the
Maharajah”, John Russell Young, Around the World
with General Grant, Vol. 2, The American News
Company, 1879, p. 37.
15) “The Nagasaki Fair had been in progress during the
summer, and it was closed. The Governor opened it
for our inspection, and it was certainly a most
creditable display of what Japan could do in art,
industry, and science”. Ibid., 1879, p. 482.
16) Shintoshi Daijiten (Dictionary of Shinto History)
Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2004, pp. 591–592 (『神道史大辞典』吉川弘文館).
17) As for the original memorial tree in Nagasaki Park,
according to Nagasaki-city, the details are not clear
but it seems to have been cut down during the Second
World War because it was planted by their enemy.
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013)92
Commented by Nagasaki-City, Green section, May 9,
2012.
18) Young, op, cit., Vol. 2, p. 483.
19) Ibid., 1879, p. 481.
20) Shiba Koen no Shiseki (The Historic Sites in Shiba
Park), Tokyo Shiyakusho, 1934, pp. 2–5 (『芝公園の史蹟』東京市役所), Jodoshu Dainenpyo (The Chrono-
logy of the Jodo Sect), Sankibobusshorin, 1994 (『浄土宗大年表』山喜房佛書林). Ryukoku University,
Bukkyo Daijiten, p. 3077 (龍谷大学編『仏教大辞典』冨山房).
21) Takami Yasujiro, “Shiba-Koen no Settei (Develop-
ment of Shiba Park)”, Zojo-ji to sono shuhen (On the
periphery of Zojoji), Minato-ku no Bunkazai (Cultural
Heritage of Minato Ward), Vol. 3, Minato-ku Kyoiku
Iinkai, 1967, pp. 41–42 (鷹見安二郎「芝公園の設定」港区教育委員会編『増上寺とその周辺』港区の文化財第三集).
22) Murakami Hakuryo, “Kaitakushi to Zojo-ji”, Zojoji-
shi (History of Zojoji), Saihoji, 1955, pp. 506–508 (村上博了編「開拓史と増上寺」『増上寺史 下』西方寺),
Tanimoto Akihisa, “Bakumatsuki, Ezo-chi eno Jiin-
Konryu to Kaitaku Seisaku”, Chu-Kinsei no Shukyo to
Kokka, Imatani Akira edited, Iwata Shoin, 1998, p. 516
(谷本晃久「幕末期、蝦夷地への寺院建立と開拓政策」今谷明・高埜俊彦編『中近世の宗教と国家』岩田書院).
23) Hokkaido Daigaku Hyakunen-shi (Centennial of
Hokkaido University), Zaikai-Hyoron-sha, 1967, pp.
69–70 (『北海道大学百年史』財界評論社).
24) Chapter 17, Osaka Shingo, Kuroda Kiyotaka to
Horace Capron, Hokkai Times-sha, 1962, p. 189 (逢坂信忢『黒田清隆とホーレス・ケプロン 北海道開拓の二大恩人 その生涯と業績』北海タイムス社).
25) Ibid., Chapter 15, pp. 166–180.
26) Meiji Tennoki, Vol. 2, Kunaicho, Yoshikawa
Kobunkan, 1969, p. 515, Vol. 3, 1969, pp. 416–417 (宮内庁『明治天皇紀二』、同『明治天皇紀三』吉川弘文館).
27) Hokkaido Hyaku-nen (Centennial of Hokkaido),
Hokkaido Shimbun-sha, 1971, p. 70 (『北海道百年 上』北海道新聞社).
28) Osaka Shingo, op, cit., p. 153, p. 205.
29) Ibid, Chapter 38, pp. 392–395.
30) After the Kaitakushi system was abolished in 1882,
the site was used for the campus of Aoyama Gakuin
since 1883. Aoyama Gakuin kyuju nen no Ayumi
(The Nineties History of Aoyama Gakuin), Aoyama
Gakuin, 1964, pp. 46–48 (『青山学院九十年の歩み』学校法人青山学院).
31) Tsuda Sen, “Hachidai Shogun oyobi Kaitakushi to
Aoyama Gakuin (The eighth Shogun, Kaitakushi
and Aoyama Gakuin)”, Gokyo, Gokyosha, No. 827,
1907, June 1, pp. 3–6 (津田仙「八代将軍及び開拓使と青山学院」『護教』).
32) Kaitaku-shi Jigyo Hokoku (Annual report of Kaitaku-
shi), Okura Sho (Ministry of Finance), Vol. 1, 1885, p.
32 (大蔵省『開拓使事業報告1』), Osaka Shingo, op,
cit., Chapter 21, pp. 226–227.
33) Aoyama Gakuin, op, cit., p. 47.
34) Kaitakushi Jigyo Hokoku (Annual report of Kaitaku-
shi), Okura Sho (Ministry of Finance), Vol. 5, 1885,
p. 61 (大蔵省『開拓使事業報告5』).
35) Jodoshu Dainenpyo, op, cit. p. 785.
36) Kaitakushi Jigyo Hokoku, op, cit. Vol. 5, pp. 59–61.
37) Guranto-Shogun to Wagakuni (General Grant and
Our Country), Tokyo Shiyakusho (Tokyo Municipal
Office), 1935, p. 6 (東京市役所『グラント将軍と我國』).38) Yoshida Kiyonari Kankei Monjo 1 Shokan-hen 1
(The Documents on Yoshida Kiyonari), Kyoto
Daigaku Kokushi Kenkyushitsu (Kyoto University,
Division of Japanese History), Shibunkaku-Shuppan,
1993, pp. 353–354 (京都大学文学部国史研究室編『吉田清成関係文書一書翰篇一』思文閣出版).
39) Takami, op, cit., p. 42.
40) Young, op, cit., Vol. 2, p. 399.
41) Kanaoka Shuyu, Bukkyo Shuha Jiten (The dictionary
of Denominations of Buddhism), Tokyodo Shuppan,
1974, p. 172.
42) Chapter. 5, “Tenkai — Gireishugi-teki iderogu (Tenkai —
Ritualism Ideology)” Herman Ooms, Tokugawa Ideology,
Translated by Kurozumi Makoto, Perikan-sha, 1992,
pp. 224–236, Herman Ooms, (Tokugawa Ideology: Early
Constructs, 1570–1680, Princeton University Press,
1985).
43) “The Cherry blossoms on the Mountain and the
Lotus on the Pond”, Ueno Onshi Koen (Imperial
bestowed Ueno Park), Tokyo Shiyakusho, 1935, pp.
12–19.
44) Ono Ryohei, Koen no Tanjo, Yoshikawa Kobunkan,
2003, p. 26 (小野良平『公園の誕生』吉川弘文館).
45) Kobayashi Yasushige, Ueno Koen, Tokyo Koen
Bunko, Kyogaku-sha, 1980, p. 137 (小林安茂『上野公園』東京公園文庫), Sato Doshin, Meiji Kokka to
Kindai Bijutsu — Bi no Seijigaku (Meiji State and
Modern Art), Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1999, pp. 25–28
OKAMOTO A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees in Modern Japan
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 93
(佐藤道信『明治国家と近代美術』吉川弘文館).
46) Shibusawa Eiichi Denki Shiryo (Shibusawa Eiichi
Biographical Materials), Vol. 25, Shibusawa Seien
Kinen Zaidan Ryumon-sha, 1959, pp. 479–538 (『渋沢栄一伝記資料第25巻』渋沢青淵記念財団竜門社).
47) Young, op, cit., Vol. 2, p. 564.
48) The planting ceremony was carried out before the
arrival of the Emperor. Young, op, cit., Vol. 2, pp. 574–
575., Meiji Tennoki, op, cit., Vol. 4, pp. 737–734.
49) Ikeda, op, cit., pp. 36–39.
50) Tsuda Sen, Nogyo Zasshi, Gakuno-sha, No. 89,
September 15, 1879, pp. 389–392. Ikeda, op, cit., pp.
31–35.
51) “General Grant‘s Tree,” National Park Service official
website, updated 4/6/2012.
52) Teien (Park and Garden), Nihon Teien Kyokai, Vol. 5.
(4), 1923 (『庭園』日本庭園協会). Honda Seiroku,
Ten-nen Koen (Nature Park), Yuzan-kaku, 1932 (本多静六『天然公園』雄山閣).
53) “There was a visit to the Big Trees, and we spent an
hour or two wandering about, clambering over fallen
trunks, and endeavoring to form some idea of the real
magnitude of these gigantic phenomena of nature.”
Young, John Russell, op, cit., vol.2, p. 631.
54) Young, op, cit., Vol. 1, 1879. pp. 340.
55) Young described, “over the flower beds droop a
cluster of olive trees, ancient, gnarled, and bending.
It is not difficult to believe, knowing what we do
know about trees in California, that these are twenty
centuries old. The General says he does not doubt it,
even from the random evidence of his own eyes,” Ibid.,
1879. pp. 339–340.
56) Yoshimi Shuichi, Yudaya jin no Matsuri (Hebrew
holy days), Jerusalem Shukyo Bunka Kenkyujo, 1986,
pp. 96–98. (吉見崇一『ユダヤ人の祭り』エルサレム宗教文化研究所).
57) Reference book: Theodor Herzl, Der Judenstaat.
—Versuch einer Modernen Loesung der Judenfrage.
(1896), (テオドール・ヘルツル『ユダヤ人国家ユダヤ人問題の現代的解決の試み』佐藤康彦訳、法政大学出版会、2011).
58) Lexicon of terms, The state of Israel official website,
http://www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/tubishvat_eng.
htm
59) Tsuda Sen, op, cit., p. 392.
60) Ikeda, op, cit., p. 40.
61) Teien to Fukei, Nihon Teien Kyokai, Vol. 12 (6),
1930, (『庭園と風景』日本庭園協会), Shibusawa Eiichi
Denki Shiryo, op, cit., Vol. 38, 1964, pp. 446–488 (『渋沢栄一伝記資料第38巻』).
62) A handout for the wreath laying ceremony of
General Grant Memorial dated on May 28, 2004,
Tokyo Government and Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial
Foundation (「グラント将軍訪日記念顕花式」式次第、東京都・渋沢栄一記念財団). The writer visited
to see this ceremony on May 28, 2004 in Ueno Park.
63) Herman Ooms, op, cit. Chapter.4, “Shihai shiso no
Fukyusha – Soryo, Ho, Best seller (Prevailing Ruler’s
Thought by Monks, Laws and Best sellers),” pp. 181–
182.
64) “Shinbutsu Shugoteki na Girei no Kaitai (Disorgani-
zation of Syncretistic Rite between Buddhism and
Shintoism),” Takagi Hiroshi, Kindai Tennosei no
Bunkashiteki Kenkyu (The study for Cultural History
of Modern Imperial System), Azekura Shobo, 1997,
pp. 34–38 (高木博志『近代天皇制の文化史的研究』校倉書房).
65) Maejima Yasuhiko, Tokyo no Koen 110-nen, Tokyo
Kensetsu-kyoku, 1985, pp. 22–23 (前島康彦『東京の公園110年』東京都建設局).
66) Young, op, cit., Vol. 2, pp. 482–483.
67) Toyama Susumu, Honda Seiroku Nihon no Shinrin
wo sodateta hito, Jitsugyo no Nihon-sha, 2006, pp.
258–265 (遠山益『本多静六 日本の森林を育てた人』).
68) Iwakura Embassy called the president in the White
House January 25 (March 4) 1872 in the lunar calendars.
Beio Kairan Jikki, Vol. 1, Iwanami bunko, 1996, pp.
204–205 (『米欧回覧実記1』岩波文庫).
69) Chapter 10, “Dai-ichiji Taisengo no Nihon no
Zionism Enjo (Japanese Support for Zionism after the
First World War),” Ben-Ami Shillony, Yudaya-jin to
Nihon-jin Seiko shita Nokemono, translated by
Nakayama Jun’ichi, Nihon-koho, 1993, p. 231 (Ben-Ami
Shillony, The Jews and The Japanese. The Successful
Outsiders, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1993).
70) Shibusawa Eiichi Denki Shiryo (Shibusawa Eiichi
Biographical Materials), Vol. 25, op, cit. pp. 508–510.
71) Independence and Separation from Old customs of
the Feudal System. Herman Ooms, op, cit. pp. 181–182.
72) Kanaoka Shyuyu, op, cit. pp. 55–56.
73) Nakanishi Masayuki, Kaidai Meiji Tenno
Gyokoshiroku, Meiji Jingu, Meiji Jingu Sosho, Vol. 11,
2001, pp. 1025–1026 (中西正幸「解題明治天皇行幸史録」明治神宮編『明治神宮叢書11巻行幸編』).
74) Hoshino Takeo, “Meiji Tenno to Guranto Shogun
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013)94
–Ueno Koen ni Kinen-hi tatsu” (Meiji Emperor and
General Grant, Building a monument in Ueno Park,”
Tengyo Minpo, No. 2843, June 15, 1930, Kokuchu-Kai
Collection (星野武男「明治天皇とグラント将軍 上野公園に紀念碑建つ(下)」『天業民報』宗教法人国柱会所蔵).
75) Nihon Shoki, Vol. 1, Iwanami Bunko, 1997, p. 100
(『日本書紀1』岩波文庫).
76) Tokoro Mitsuo, Kiso-shiki Batsuboku Unzai Zue
(Cutting Lumber and Water Transportation in Kiso),
Ginga Shobo, 1977, p78 (所三男『木曾式伐木運材図会』銀河書房).
77) Tobusa-Tate is an old custom for the woodmen.
When he cuts down a tree he stands a treetop on its
stump for dedication to Yama no Kami (God).
Tobusa-Tate custom was also described by Otomo
Yakamochi in Man’yoshu, No. 391, No. 4026.,
Man’yoshu, annotations by Nakanishi Susumu,
Kodansha Bunko, Vol. 1, 1985, pp. 225–226, Vol. 4,
1988, p. 137 (中西進校注『万葉集』講談社文庫).
OKAMOTO A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees in Modern Japan
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 95
Fig. 4 The Memorial Tree in Shiba, Tokyo General Grant’s Memorial Tree (Photo: Kinoshita Naoyuki)
Fig. 6 The Plaque by the Memorial Tree at Zojoji
Fig. 7 The Memorial Trees in Ueno, TokyoRight: Cypress lawsoniana planted by General Grant
Left: Magnolia planted by Mrs. Grant
Fig. 2 The Memorial Tree in Nagasaki General Grant’s Memorial Tree (Photo: Nagasaki City, the
Green Section)
Fig. 3 The Monument by the Memorial tree in Nagasaki. (Photo: Nagasaki City, the Green Section)“Nagasaki, Japan, June22, 1879. At the request of Governor Utsumi Tadakatsu, Mrs. Grant and I have each planted a tree in the Nagasaki Park. I hope that both trees may prosper, grow large, live long, and in their growth, prosperity, and long life be emblematic of the future Japan.”(Young, John Russell, Around the World with General Grant, Vol. 2, The American News Company, 1879, p. 483)
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013)96
Fig. 13 Wreath-Laying Ceremony in Ueno Park(Photo: May 27, 2005, Taito City, Secretarial and Public Relations Section)
Fig. 8 General Grant’s Tree The Nation’s Christmas Tree in General Grant National Park: The Grant Grove (Photo: National Park Service ©)
OKAMOTO A Cultural History of Planting Memorial Trees in Modern Japan
総研大文化科学研究 第 9号(2013) 97
近代日本における「記念植樹」に関する 文化史的研究
―1879年グラント将軍訪日記念植樹式一考―
岡本貴久子
総合研究大学院大学 文化科学研究科 国際日本研究専攻
本研究では近代日本において実施された「記念」に樹を植えるという行為、即ち「記念植樹」に関する文化史の一つとして、明治12(1879)年に国賓として来日した米国第18代大統領U.S.グラント、通称グラント将軍による三ヶ所(長崎公園・芝公園・上野公園)の記念植樹式に焦点をあて、それが行われた公園という空間の歴史的変遷を分析することによって、何故そうした儀式的行為が営まれたかという意図とその根底に備わっていると見られる自然観を考察した。なぜ記念植樹か。実は近代化が推進される当時の日本において記念碑や記念像が相次いで設置されていく傍らで、今日、公私を問わずあらゆる場面において一般的となった記念樹を植えるという行為もまた同様に、時の政府や当時を代表する林学者らによって国家事業の一環として推進されていたという事実があり、加えてこうした儀式的行為を広く一般に浸透させる為に逐一ニュースとして記事にしていた報道機関の存在から、記念に植樹するという行為もまた日本の近代化の一牽引役として働いていたのではないかと推測され得るからである。本文では1872年のグラント政権が開国後間もない新政府の近代化政策に与えた諸影響を中心に論じたが、例えばこのグラント政権下において米国で初めて国立公園が設定され、Arbor
Dayという樹栽日が創設され、且つ同政権下の農政家ホーレス・ケプロンが開拓使顧問として来日、増上寺の開拓使出張所を基点に北海道開拓を指揮するなど、グラント政権下における殊に「自然」に関わる政策で新政府が手本としたと見られる事柄は少なくない。こうした近代化の指導者ともいうべきグラント将軍による記念植樹式は、いずれも明治6(1873)年の太政官布告によって「公園」という新たな空間に指定された社寺境内において営まれ、米国を代表する巨樹「ジャイアント・セコイア」等が植えられたのだが、新政府にとってそれは単に将軍の訪日記念という意味のみならず、「旧習を打破し知識を世界に求める」という西欧化政策を着実に根付かせる意図を持ってなされた儀式的行為であったと考えられる。しかしながら同時にこの儀式的行為は、「樹木崇拝」という新政府が棄てたはずの原始的な自然崇拝が根底に備わるものであり、新旧の自然思想が混淆している点を見逃してはならない。従って明治初期の記念植樹という行為は、新旧あるいは西洋と東洋の思想とかたちと融和させるために行われた一種の儀式的行為であり、明治の指導者たちはこのような自然観を応用しながら近代化促進につとめたといえるのではないだろうか。
キーワード:記念植樹、日本の近代化、西欧化、植樹、樹木崇拝、記念事業、公園、
ネーション・ステーツ、グラント将軍、津田仙、渋沢栄一、本多静六
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